Melissa Nesdahl – Nobody Told Me

Have you ever met someone that really shined for Jesus in a real and obvious way? Well, today, I have the privilege of introducing you to a friend whom I’ve met through cyberspace, Melissa Nesdahl. I love her heart for Jesus and others, and I love the way she writes! She has recently written a book with internationally known speaker, Pam Stenzel, entitled, “Nobody Told Me”. Nobody Told Me deals candidly with the physical and emotional consequences of sex before marriage.

So, without further adieu, please welcome my friend, Melissa Nesdahl:

Friends in Christ,

My name is Melissa Nesdahl and I’m honored to be guest posting here on Stephanie’s wonderful blog (Don’t you all just love her?!)

Over the past few weeks you have been walking through a wonderful Bible Study and carefully considered the words you use, how you live out your faith in the everyday world, God’s presence, forgiveness following ungodly life choices, and true discipleship that desires His mindset. In essence, you have been discussing a living, breathing faith in a world that often challenges that life.

So what do I have to do with this, you ask?

Well, like you I am an adult Christian woman striving to live out my faith life to the fullest. I want people to see me/my name and immediately recognize the spiritual fruit and blessing that comes from a life in Christ. Beyond that, I work to help youth grasp this message so in their formative years they can stand strong in the Lord and resist worldly temptations.

I write with Internationally known abstinence educatorPam Stenzel. Recently, we released our first book together entitled NOBODY TOLD ME: What You Need to Know about the Physical and Emotional Consequences to Sex Outside of Marriage.

Teens today are often rushed into making adult choices without complete awareness of healthy boundaries. How far is too far? Am I really at risk? Do I need to see a doctor? How do I handle these consequences? What is God’s design? Does He really care? How do I say “no?” What are safe dating boundaries? Is it too late for me? These questions and more swirl through the minds of developing adolescents often times before their faith is mature, and they need helpful, honest, accurate answers.

To help students grow in their faith, Pam and I took years worth of teens’ shared stories and questions (to keep it in their authentic voice) about God’s design for sex, Scriptural encouragement, media influence, peer pressure, abuse, pregnancy, STDs, emotional heartache, and choosing abstinence until marriage and formatted in a way teens like to communicate. Using a fun Facebook-like style, we meet teens (and all who love them) where they are at and provide them with answers to today’s tough questions so that they aren’t the next to tearfully say to God, their parents, a physician, or a future spouse, “Nobody told me. I didn’t know.”

The best part about this book is that it is applicable to every student regardless of the choices they have made. For those who have abstained, this book will offer a window into the heart of their peers, provide answers to difficult questions they still might have (and be afraid to ask), strengthen them to remain pure until marriage, and offer for them suggestions to help them live that out. If, on the other hand, a young person has made mistakes this book is still for them (making it unique to others) because they will hear stories of young people struggling right along with them, but laced within the message is clarity where there was confusion, hope where there was pain, experienced forgiveness from a loving God, understanding that their past choices don’t have to define their future ones, and practical steps to redeeming their future.

For parents, youth workers, crisis pregnancy workers, mentors, etc. this book is an excellent help because we live in a rapidly changing world. The consequences that they may have faced as a teen are no longer the same as the teens of today. The number of STDs has risen, media exposure delivers wildly different messages, and the people in the home and church haven’t always known how to effectively deliver an abstinence-based message that is both glorifying to God and powerful enough to pack a punch with the students who hear it. This book will place them inside of today’s teenage experience and bring them up to speed on current statistics to help them effectively communicate a message that empowers the teen they love to have a healthy future.

With God’s Word as our guide, we have created a book offering awesome, Godly relationships to any male or female 12 and up. In the process, personal faith with blossom, self-confidence will grow, respect for oneself and the people around them will become the expectation, and a life of wholeness will result.

Endorsed by many, popular Christian musical artist Rebecca St. James is on the cover stating, “This book is relevant, powerful, and packed with truths that all young people need to hear.”

As Christians, we all have prayerful hearts that students will hear and stand on this counter-culture message. Please join me in encouraging the living, breathing faith of our young people that you have been studying the past few weeks!

*Note* Melissa is currently running a giveaway for 5 copies of Nobody Told Me on her blog. Please click here and rush over to enter!

Bio– Melissa Nesdahl is a happily married wife, mother, author, writer, and volunteer who believes that when people recognize their identity and value in Christ they will experience life to its fullest. Combining her passion to write with her love of sharing Truth, Melissa frequently updates her blog, writes product and curriculum with Pam Stenzel, and contributes to ModSquad. Melissa has served as a crisis pregnancy center counselor since 1999 and currently serves on the Board of Directors.

A NOTE FROM STEPH:

Talking sex with your children is never easy, but Nobody Told Me will give you the tools you need to approach this complicated subject with them. I hope you will invest in Melissa’s book for yourself, a family member and/or a friend.

I also hope you’ll join our study of the power-packed Pauline epistle, Philippians! Click here to subscribe and receive your Bible study in you inbox. Or click on the Google or Networkedblog links to receive it as a feed.